Princess Diana's Sister-in-Law Made Some Huge Changes to Her Childhood Home

Case in point: She installed a bouncy castle in the dining room.

By
Caroline Picard

Jul 12, 2016

When a young Lady Diana roamed the halls of Althorp Estate, she was forbidden to touch anything or even talk much. But the new mistress of her childhood home has a different vision for the 508-year-old mansion. Countess Karen Spencer, the third wife of Earl Charles Spencer, has initiated some unusual decor changes, including a bouncy castle in the silk-lined state dining room.

"A lot of people are quite surprised by it," Diana's sister-in-law told People. "But I've always believed this house should be lived in." Her philosophy is definitely a complete reversal from the previous household rules.

"When I came here as a child with my sister, it was my grandfather's house and he was very strict," Earl Spencer explained to People. "We weren't allowed to touch anything or even speak that much. I think I can hear him right now quietly revolving in his grave."

The couple installed the play area for their 3-year-old daughter, Lady Charlotte. But the formal space, which was modeled after a Buckingham Palace ballroom, still fulfills some of its intended duties. "The children get terribly upset when we actually want to use the state dining room for, well, dining," the Countess shared about their nine kids, including eight from previous marriages.

The indoor playground isn't Karen Spencer's only newfangled addition. "This idea of having guests walk across a hallway to use the bathroom isn't really working for me," she commented on her plans to modernize the plumbing. The aspiring philanthropist recently opened the estate to the (high-rolling) public, offering a weekend's stay for a whopping $40,000.

Althorp's ongoing facelift extends to the grounds, too. The Earl's wife is also directing the renovation of Diana's gravesite. She'll oversee the changes made to her final resting place on a small island in Oval Lake, including new plantings of forget-me-nots and rhododendrons.

"They were Diana's favorite flower," her brother told People. "I still remember giving her some when we were children. When I was six, I gave her a white pot of blue forget-me-nots." As for the rhododendrons, Earl Spencer says "they were the flower at Sandringham," the siblings' home before moving to Althorp in 1975.

The couple also commissioned a new memorial for the sanctuary, which previously looked "neglected" according to critics. While a small temple open to the public sits at the lake's edge, the new object will go on the island, which will remain off-limits to visitors. "Before, we left the grave unmarked because the family knew where it was," Earl Spencer said. "But now we're going to have a memorial to Diana."

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